Your Opinion: Political system is broken

Einstein said it best: “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” Yet, with the truth of Einstein’s quote widely acknowledged and taken for granted, how is it that entire societies keep doing the same thing over and over again but expect different results?

On issue after issue — economy, foreign policy, defense, environment, education, etc, — the manner in which governments address them continues to provide proof for Einstein’s “Theory of Relative Insanity.”

Another proof is to be found in the U.S. presidential election. The electorate will vote for a representative of one of the two political parties. An analysis of what these parties have accomplished during their respective reigns reveals an unbroken track record of failure … failure ranging from the catastrophic to the abject. Thus, to vote for either presidential candidate and to expect something other than failure is, by definition, insanity.

Why will so many people vote on Election Day when they know they will not get what they really want? Not only are we willing to settle for less, many openly acknowledge that they will be voting for the “lesser of two evils.” How can people justify voting for an evil and actually believe that any good can come of it? Lesser or greater, evil is evil. Yet, not only do they justify it, they will argue that their evil candidate is better than your evil candidate and become furious when you don’t see it their way.

Our political system is broken and totally ineffective. The ending term of Congress is ample evidence of that. Pontification, posturing, finger-pointing, breast-beating and lofty oratory have resulted in the least productive session of Congress on record. Incredible though it may seem, most of the incumbents up for re-election expect to be returned to Washington as a reward for their dismal and lackluster performance.

We deserve better but we’ll only get it we demand it. As far as I’m concerned, every member of Congress needs to be replaced and it needs to continue until we get a response to what we want. Inaction and posturing is unacceptable. Compromise and bipartisanship to move the country forward is what we need. Revolution is also needed. Revolution at the ballot box is our best way to effect change for the future. We need representatives in Congress who are less party sensitive and more interested in returning America to the prosperous leader we once were.